Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


Southwest Quinoa Bowls

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Healthy, flavorful and delicious southwest quinoa bowls filled with black beans, lots of veggies, and tons of spicy southwest flavor! Ready in 30 minutes, vegan & gluten-free.

Southwest Quinoa Bowls : A super healthy, easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free option with TONS of flavor and veggies!

So I don’t know about you, but my husband is the whiniest whenever I make dinner with no meat. In fact, if I even try to get him to go to a vegetarian restaurant he flat our refuses.

Southwest Quinoa Bowls : A super healthy, easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free option with TONS of flavor and veggies!

The funniest part is that if I just don’t say anything and feed him a veggie burger, he loves it. I’m pretty sure it’s a mental man thing. Dinner isn’t dinner without meat? It’s like he’s still stuck in 1990 when they thought all vegetarians ate no protein.

Southwest Quinoa Bowls : A super healthy, easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free option with TONS of flavor and veggies!

So of course the other night as this baby was cooking, he was “snacking” on beef jerky. Then about 2 bites in, he realized the err of his ways, and fell equally in love as I did. Also, he continued to eat all the leftovers sans jerky, so I’d so it was pretty much a success. 😉

Southwest Quinoa Bowls : A super healthy, easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free option with TONS of flavor and veggies!

Cooking the quinoa in vegetable broth adds so much flavor. Add that to every southwest flavor you can throw in the mix and you have a healthy, easy, protein-packed vegan lunch or dinner with over the top delicious flavor!

Southwest Quinoa Bowls : A super healthy, easy and delicious vegan and gluten-free option with TONS of flavor and veggies!

It’s only a little spicy, so if you want a spicier dish, feel free to leave the ribs and seeds in from the jalapeno, or even add a second jalapeno, or more green chile. The best part is this dish is totally customizable, so feel free to add whatever you want. Don’t have something on hand? Leave it out. There’s so much going on that it’s easy to play with. Psssst: If you’re not vegan, topping this baby with goat cheese is kinda the stuff dreams are made of. 😉

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Southwest Quinoa Bowls
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Healthy, flavorful and delicious southwest quinoa bowls filled with black beans, lots of veggies, and tons of spicy southwest flavor! Vegan & gluten-free.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 x 15 ounce cans black beans, lightly drained
  • 1 x 15 ounce can corn, drained
  • 1 bell pepper (preferably red or orange), finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped
  • 1 x 4 ounce can green chiles
  • 1 lime, zest and juice
  • generous pinch cumin
  • generous pinch pepper
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1" pieces
  • finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
  • finely chopped green onion, for garnish
  • Chalulah for topping, optional
Instructions
  1. Place quinoa, vegetable broth, and garlic in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 12-15 minutes until liquid is incorporated.
  2. Stir in beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, green chiles, lime zest and juice, cumin and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in tomatoes. Serve topped with avocado, cilantro, green onion and Chalulah if desired. Leftovers may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week. Avocado will not stay fresh as long, so you should store separately (with the pit and a little lime juice), and may need a second one. This can be served hot or cold.

 

Drink & Dish: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

There are few things I love more than a fresh summer salad. It’s hot outside. I don’t want to spend hours cooking inside and then put hot food into my hot body. Haha, hot body. Who says things like that??? I mean temperature wise…obviously…

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I love bringing healthy sides to barbecues and get togethers. There are so many “salads” filled with gross mayo that don’t even taste very good that seem to be the tradition, and I just don’t get that. I wanted to create a salad that can wear many faces. Healthy side dish? Check. Vegetarian meal option? Check. Vegan meal option? Just leave out the cheese (which makes me cry, but if you’re vegan, you’re probably used to that by now). Serving of veggies? Yeah, got that too. My salad is a chameleon.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

This is also one of the simplest, easiest, and fastest dishes I’ve ever made. Seriously, as I wrote up the instructions, I thought to myself “That’s it? What did I forget?” because honestly, I feel like I always forget something. But for real, that’s it. If you cook the quinoa ahead of time and already have roasted red peppers on hand, it literally takes 5 minutes.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Nicole and I always brainstorm together on what we will create for our Drink & Dish episodes that will complement each others’ recipes, but this time it truly was a match made in heaven. Her cucumber gin fizz is the perfect pairing to this salad. I’m not usually a gin person, but it was so light and refreshing, you’ve got to check it out! Also, check out our latest D&D episode!

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Drink & Dish: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 12-16 servings

Serving Size: approx 1/2 cup

Drink & Dish: Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa
  • 1 large persian cucumber, chopped
  • 1 small 2-2.5 oz can sliced black olives
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 large red bell peppers, roasted and chopped (or 1 cup chopped roasted red peppers from a jar)
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • generous pinch each salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Drain and cool.
  2. Place cooked and cooled quinoa along with all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to combine. Serve immediately or store refrigerated in an airtight container for 5-7 days.
http://www.arismenu.com/mediterranean-quinoa-salad/

Crab Fried Quinoa with Spicy Peanut Sauce

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I used to hate Thai food. Well, I thought I hated Thai food. I used to have this thing where I was sure I hated anything I’d never tried that wasn’t a type of cheese or brownie.

One day when I was just starting to branch out in my eating habits, I got coerced into going to a Thai restaurant. Someone once told me that Thai food was healthy, and at that point in my life, that was all it took to make me believe it. I just just barely begun my weight loss journey, and I just assumed everyone knew more than me. Plus they don’t use cheese, so clearly it’s healthy, right?

I tried Chicken Pad Thai and never looked back. It was love at first bite, and I’ve been totally hooked on Thai food ever since! In fact, one of my best friendships is pretty much based off of a mutual love for Thai food. And Seinfeld. Have I ever talked about my love for Seinfeld???? It’s an intense burning love bordering on obsession. I’ve seen every episode at least 10 times, and I own the entire series on DVD. I can recognize a Seinfeld quote at any time, and if I find out you share my love, I immediately consider you my best friend.

Things I love: Seinfeld, Thai food, puppies, peanut butter, cilantro, glitter, polka dots, running skirts, the color green. Now you know the way to my heart. Now if only they made polka-dotted glitter puppies that like to watch Seinfeld while eating Thai food, peanut butter, and cilantro while wearing green running skirts, my life would be made. Okay, that was weird. Let’s talk about the food.

Ohhhhhh my gosh, THE FOOD. The quinoa works as a perfect rice substitute, but you could also use brown rice. I can’t cook rice. I mess it up every.single.time. It’s so annoying. No matter what I do, it turns out crunchy. It’s like I’m missing the rice gene or something. Luckily, I CAN cook quinoa, and it’s so easy. Rice–who needs it???

Not me. Not this dish. So there.

I got the fancy dish and chopsticks in Hawaii, and I knew I needed to make something awesome to put in/eat with them. My last day at CGST, I ate quinoa with peanut sauce on top, and I was basically in heaven. My mind started racing almost immediately “WHAT CAN I MAKE??? MUST HAVE MORE QUINOA AND PEANUT SAUCE!!!!” Oh peanut sauce. I just want to put this stuff on every meal I ever eat for the rest of my life.

This dish was surprisingly easy, and as soon as I took my first bite, I started wondering where it had been all of my life. I’m not always the best about leftovers. If I’m not 100% IN LOVE with the dish, leftovers often sit around in my fridge while I make salads for lunch and try new recipes for dinner. This lasted about 48 hours. Do you ever get sad when your food is gone? Please tell me that’s not weird….

Crab Fried Quinoa with Spicy Peanut Sauce

yield 6 servings

For the Crab Fried Quinoa:

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 tbs canola oil
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
  • 1 tbs reduced sodium soy sauce
  • pinch ground ginger
  • 1/2 lb crab meat (I used imitation–it’s super inexpensive and still delicious)
  • extra cilantro for topping (optional)

For the Spicy Peanut Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
  • 3 tbs unsweetened almond or coconut milk
  • 2-3 tbs reduced sodium soy sauce (use gluten-free if applicable)
  • 2 tbs fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbs red chili paste
  • handful fresh cilantro,finely chopped

Directions:

  1. Cook quinoa to package instructions.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, prepare the sauce by warming peanut butter and milk in a medium microwave safe bowl for 10-15 seconds. Whisk in all remaining sauce ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a large wok pan over medium heat, sautee garlic and onion in canola oil until golden and fragrant–about 5 minutes. Add eggs stirring constantly to scramble. When eggs have reached scrambled egg consistency, add remaining vegetables, soy sauce and ginger. Cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Add cooked quinoa and crab meat. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, tossing constantly to combine.
  5. Serve topped with spicy peanut sauce and cilantro.

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